This past weekend I had another delightful day of teaching at Needles in the Hay, where there was much lace discussion. I taught a Lace 101+ class in the morning (I call it that because I really cannot guarantee where my dividing line between beginner and intermediate actually falls, or if such a line exists at all). It was a good time, and as per usual when I teach a technique class, I basically leave wanting to go home and start on at least 3 more projects using said technique.

I’ve also been puttering around the laceweight yarn for some spring/summer lace knitting of my own, and a skein of Turtlepurl Angel lace laceweight came onto the needles last week to start on a Queen Silvia stole (Ravelry link). It’s gorgeous yarn, and a gorgeous pattern, but it niggled at me that it might not be the right combination.

But after some fun shawl-show-and-tell during class, I came home and realized what I really just wanted to do with the yarn, and that was just make it into another Pi Shawl. (Instructions in Knitter’s Almanac.) I finished my first Pi Shawl about a year and a half ago (Lorraine is wearing it in the picture above), and for months now I’ve been ogling it and wishing I had, well, one in every colour. WELL THEN. Now the orange part of the colours will be covered, along with the purple. Or at least, it will be in a matter of time. It always starts so easily, then fools you with the incrementally expanding stitch counts as you happily drift around and around and around.

I do love how it starts, though. When it’s small and has just enough stitches to fit inside your 16″ circular needle is when you can see the structure of it the best. I’m doing the yarnover version, where every 6th row you work a round of [k2tog, yo] repeats. It’s very simple, and very effective. And a single 1300-yd skein of alpaca/silk/cashmere laceweight is lofty and light enough that I can shove it in a project bag and carry it around in my handbag without a second thought. This might not end up being my only summer lace knitting – I still have my eye on those beautiful Knitted Lace of Estonia patterns – but it’ll be a nice and simple project to have on the go.

7 responses to “First Principles”

That yarn is beautiful! (And nice to see my friend Marit in your blog photos again.) Question about pi shawls: I have made one circular shawl and I find I don’t know how to wear it apart from folding it into a semicircle. How do you wear yours?